The first eight months of 2012 were the hottest ever recorded in the continental United States and the summer period of June, July and August was the third hottest ever, the National Climatic Data Center reported Monday.

Although the August average of 74.4 degrees Fahrenheit made it only the 16th hottest August on record, the hottest July ever combined with the hottest spring on record to keep January-August 2012 atop the record books.

The nation as a whole is averaging 4 degrees Fahrenheit above average for the year. That's a full degree higher than the same period in 2006, the second hottest January-August on record.

Record keeping began in 1895.

The record warmth is a constant for from cities north to south, from Fargo, North Dakota, at 5.7 degrees F above average, to Tampa, Florida, at 2.2 degrees F above average. Green Bay, Wisconsin, posted the biggest difference to the average, 6.7 degrees F above.

The hottest temperature recorded for the month was 126 degrees F in Death Valley, California, recently recognized as the hottest place on Earth.

If you were looking colder than normal weather, the West Coast was the place to be. San Diego was .2 degrees F below normal for the year, San Francisco was 1 degree F below normal, Portland, Oregon, .7 degrees F below normal and Seattle, 1.1 degrees F below normal.

Outside the continental 48, Alaska and Hawaii temperatures were also below normal.

Meanwhile, drought conditions continued to affect a large chunk of the 48 states. The portion of the country experiencing exceptional drought, the worst level of drought, doubled in August to 6%, the NCDC reported. Overall, 39% of the country was in severe to extreme drought, "indicating that the drought has intensified," it said. Only the droughts of the 1930s and 1950s have been worse, the agency said.

Tell that to the DEAD corn stalks of the midwest. The potato crop is in danger too. Oh, but you must mean the swarms of gnats that have grown at an alarming rate, causing cattle to NOT gain as much weight.

I'm sure the words "recorded by man" were omitted by the authors. It's hard to believe that any agency would go out on a limb and state "warmest ever" since North America has been around for a long time .....way longer than temperature measuring devices.

I think the problem with Dem's is their lack of confidence. I mean the Repub's have plenty of confidence, but that's because their vision is blurred by false hopes of 'All the science isn't in yet' ... The Dem's have the upper hand on this, it just takes time to convince the GOP because they don't understand Science ( because of all the crazy math and stuff )

Let's do a basic logic problem. Science has proven there have been 5 ice ages. They have also proven that in between those ice ages is a long period of global warming (bonus points for who has common sense enough to know that if the Earth never warmed after an ice age it wouldn't be called an ice age, it would be called normal). We are in between ice ages. Ok...now it's your turn. If it warms up between ice ages...and we are in between ice ages...logical (and common sense) dictates that what...? If you find yourself baffled by this logic problem, then you too are an IPCC scientist who is paid to come up with certain results to blame man for the warming.

You left out the part about this being the fastest rate of warming ever. The only diffference between the inter-glacial periods in the past and the current one is the industrial revolution (burning fossil fuels).

The increasing droughts, floods, and wildfires in the U.S. and worldwide are all a major indicators of climate change, which is directly caused by fossil fuel use. Romney/Ryan fossil fuel dependent energy policy would only perpetuate the problem, which would be catastrophic for our country. In spite of the endless proof of human induced climate change, some of the population is still in denial. There are three reasons for this (1) the belief that the rapid change in our climate over the last 50 years is part of a cycle although these cycles take thousands of years, (2) the occasional negative news story on the science of climate change, and (3) rightist conservative radical or ignorant tea party philosophy that climate change is a hoax. There are deniers in every scientific fact. Climate change deniers threaten humanity. Reversing climate change is impossible at this point due to the international thirst for fossil fuels and our overall society living standard. This is not going to change. So, rather than talking about stopping climate change, letâ€™s ignore the utopian deniers and begin a dialogue on how to adapt and stop dwelling on environmentally and socially damaging energy topics like Solyndra and the keystone pipeline.

Exactly....time to start adapting. Too many people want to ignore, blame, deny etc...whatever the reason. We aren't going to get everyone to wake up and pay attention let alone believe whats happening right before their very eyes and then ACT in time! Its probably too late for all of that. We are better off trying to figure out how we are going to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

I don't know why people are so against the idea of global warming due to human activity. We're all part of the problem. It doesn't mean we're going to stop what we're doing, but what's the harm in admitting it? Nobody takes responsibility for anything anymore.

Whether you believe global warming and or climate change is due to man, or just a natural occurrence on this planet, what harm is there in cleaning up the environment? What harm is there in making the air clean? What harm is there in protecting endangered species? What harm is there in making sure our children will inherit a beautiful planet? That is what i never get about the global warming argument. It's like saying you wont wash your hands because the bacteria on them may not get you sick. What harm is there in having clean hands?

Yes, North America is experiencing warmer than normal temps. However, the far Southern Hemisphere is experiencing below normal temps. Likewise, while the Arctic ice is decreasing, the Antarctic ice is increasing. So, the total polar ice is nearly the same (just slightly below normal). This is not exactly global warming by a long shot. However, climate change definitely is upon us. Watch the Sun, the spots are disappearing.

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